Mesophyll diffusion conductance to CO₂ is a key photosynthetic trait that has been studied intensively in the past years. The intention of the present review is to update knowledge of g_m, and highlight the important unknown and controversial aspects that require future work. The photosynthetic limitation imposed by mesophyll conductance is large, and under certain conditions can be the most significant photosynthetic limitation. New evidence shows that anatomical traits, such as cell wall thickness and chloroplast distribution are amongst the stronger determinants of mesophyll conductance, although rapid variations in response to environmental changes might be regulated by other factors such as aquaporin conductance.

Gaps in knowledge that should be research priorities for the near future include: how different is mesophyll conductance among phylogenetically distant groups and how has it evolved? Can mesophyll conductance be uncoupled from regulation of the water path? What are the main drivers of mesophyll conductance? The need for mechanistic and phenomenological models of mesophyll conductance and its incorporation in process-based photosynthesis models is also highlighted.

Corrigendum DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2012.08.001

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	aquaporins, climate change, conductance, diffusion, leaf anatomy, photosynthesis, plant hydraulics, carbon dioxide, chlorophyll, cell wall, chloroplast
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Plant biology
Research Field:	Plant physiology
Objective Division:	Plant Production and Plant Primary Products
Objective Group:	Other plant production and plant primary products
Objective Field:	Other plant production and plant primary products not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Carriqui, M (Mr Marc Carriqui Alcover)
ID Code:	134461
Year Published:	2012
Web of Science® Times Cited:	485
Deposited By:	Plant Science
Deposited On:	2019-08-14
Last Modified:	2019-09-09
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